Giving to Needy People

6 “Be careful not to do ‘good works’ in front of others. Don’t do them to be seen by others. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you.

2“When you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by others. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.

3“When you give to the needy, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Then your giving will be done secretly. Your Father will reward you. He sees what you do secretly.

Prayer

5“When you pray, do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They want to be seen by others. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.

6“When you pray, go into your room. Close the door and pray to your Father, who can’t be seen. He will reward you. Your Father sees what is done secretly.

7“When you pray, do not keep talking on and on the way ungodly people do. They think they will be heard because they talk a lot. 8Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.

9“This is how you should pray.

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

may your name be honored.

10 May your kingdom come.

May what you want to happen be done

on earth as it is done in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 Forgive us our sins,

just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.

13 Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.

Save us from the evil one.’

14“Forgive people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive people their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

16“When you go without eating, do not look gloomy like those who only pretend to be holy. They make their faces very sad. They want to show people they are fasting. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.

17“But when you go without eating, put olive oil on your head. Wash your face. 18Then others will not know that you are fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. He will reward you. Your Father sees what is done secretly.

Put Away Riches in Heaven

19“Do not put away riches for yourselves on earth. Moths and rust can destroy them. Thieves can break in and steal them. 20Instead, put away riches for yourselves in heaven. There, moths and rust do not destroy them. There, thieves do not break in and steal them. 21Your heart will be where your riches are.

22“The eye is like a lamp for the body. Suppose your eyes are good. Then your whole body will be full of light. 23But suppose your eyes are bad. Then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it is very dark!

24“No one can serve two masters at the same time. He will hate one of them and love the other. Or he will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can’t serve God and Money at the same time.

Do Not Worry

25“I tell you, do not worry. Don’t worry about your life and what you will eat or drink. And don’t worry about your body and what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than eating? Aren’t there more important things for the body than clothes?

26“Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or gather crops. They don’t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?

27“Can you add even one hour to your life by worrying?

28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work or make clothing. 29But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all of his glory was dressed like one of those flowers.

30“If that is how God dresses the wild grass, won’t he dress you even better? After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. Your faith is so small!

31“So don’t worry. Don’t say, ‘What will we eat?’ Or, ‘What will we drink?’ Or, ‘What will we wear?’ 32People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father who is in heaven knows that you need them.

33“But put God’s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all of those things will also be given to you.

34“So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Be Fair When You Judge Others

7 “Do not judge others. Then you will not be judged. 2You will be judged in the same way you judge others. You will be measured in the same way you measure others.

3“You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend’s eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye. 4How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye’? How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye?

5“You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend’s eye.

6“Do not give holy things to dogs. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they might walk all over them. Then they might turn around and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Search, Knock

7“Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8Everyone who asks will receive. He who searches will find. The door will be opened to the one who knocks.

9“Suppose your son asks for bread. Which of you will give him a stone? 10Or suppose he asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake? 11Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

12“In everything, do to others what you would want them to do to you. This is what is written in the Law and in the Prophets.

The Large and Small Gates

13“Enter God’s kingdom through the narrow gate. The gate is large and the road is wide that lead to death and hell. Many people go that way. 14But the gate is small and the road is narrow that lead to life. Only a few people find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you pretending to be sheep. But on the inside they are hungry wolves. 16You can tell what they really are by what they do.

“Do people pick grapes from bushes? Do they pick figs from thorns? 17In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit. But a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree can’t bear bad fruit. And a bad tree can’t bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down. It is thrown into the fire. 20You can tell each tree by its fruit.

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do what my Father in heaven wants will enter.

22“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord! Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we drive out demons in your name? Didn’t we do many miracles in your name?’ 23Then I will tell them clearly, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who do evil!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24“So then, everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. He builds his house on the rock. 25The rain comes down. The water rises. The winds blow and beat against that house. But it does not fall. It is built on the rock.

26“But everyone who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man. He builds his house on sand. 27The rain comes down. The water rises. The winds blow and beat against that house. And it falls with a loud crash.”

28Jesus finished saying all these things. The crowds were amazed at his teaching. 29He taught like one who had authority. He did not speak like their teachers of the law.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Had a Skin Disease

8 Jesus came down from the mountainside. Large crowds followed him.

2A man who had a skin disease came and got down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, if you are willing to make me ‘clean,’ you can do it.”

3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” he said. “Be ‘clean’!”

Right away the man was healed of his skin disease.

4Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone. Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the gift Moses commanded. It will be a witness to them.”

A Roman Commander Has Faith

5When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman commander came to him. He asked Jesus for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home and can’t move. He is suffering terribly.”

7Jesus said, “I will go and heal him.”

8The commander replied, “Lord, I am not good enough to have you come into my house. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9I myself am a man under authority. And I have soldiers who obey my orders. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those following him, “What I’m about to tell you is true. In Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong.

11“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west. They will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of heaven. They will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 12But those who think they belong to the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness. There they will sob and grind their teeth.”

13Then Jesus said to the Roman commander, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.”

And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Jesus Heals Many People

14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law. She was lying in bed. She had a fever.

15Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and began to wait on him.

16When evening came, many people controlled by demons were brought to Jesus. He drove out the spirits with a word. He healed all who were sick.

17He did it to make what the prophet Isaiah had said come true. He had said,

“He suffered the things we should have suffered.

He took on himself the sicknesses that should have been ours.” (Isaiah 53:4)

It Costs to Follow Jesus

18Jesus saw the crowd around him. So he gave his disciples orders to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

19Then a teacher of the law came to him. He said, “Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go.”

20Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

21Another follower said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22But Jesus told him, “Follow me. Let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

23Jesus got into a boat. His disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the lake. The waves crashed over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

25The disciples went and woke him up. They said, “Lord! Save us! We’re going to drown!”

26He replied, “Your faith is so small! Why are you so afraid?”

Then Jesus got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop. It became completely calm.

27The disciples were amazed. They asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men Controlled by Demons

28Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the area of the Gadarenes. Two men controlled by demons met him. They came from the tombs. The men were so wild that no one could pass that way.

29“Son of God, what do you want with us?” they shouted. “Have you come here to punish us before the time for us to be judged?”

30Not very far away, a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32Jesus said to them, “Go!”

So the demons came out of the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank. They ran into the lake and drowned in the water.

33Those who were tending the pigs ran off. They went into the town and reported all this. They told the people what had happened to the men who had been controlled by demons.

34Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.